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Insane Clown President

Dispatches From the 2016 Circus

Taibbi tells the full story the campaign, from its tragi-comic beginnings to its apocalyptic conclusion, through sharp, on-the-ground reporting, incisive analysis, and gallows humor. This isn't simply a blow-by-blow recounting of this uniquely bizarre and disturbing election season, but the wider story of the seeming collapse of American democracy. Unlike many campaign chroniclers, Taibbi grasped the essential themes of the story from beginning: the power of spectacle over substance, or even truth; the absence of a shared reality between warring sides of the political spectrum; the nihilistic rebellion of the white working class; the death of the political establishment; and the emergence of a new, explicit form of white nationalism that would destroy what was left of the Kingian dream of a successful pluralistic society. The pieces cover the "clown car" of the Republican primary season, the thwarted Bernie insurgency, the deeply flawed and aimless Clinton campaign, the often pathetic media coverage, the legacy of the Obama administration, and the lives of actual voters across the country forced to bear witness to the whole dispiriting spectacle"--Provided by publisher.

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5 (five) FAT STARS - Taibbi's blowtorch gaze reminds me of the more hilarious and spot-on writings of H.L. Mencken, the great Baltimore newspaper columnist of the early 1900's. And anyone who thinks he's being pro-Clinton here simply hasn't read the book.

I had to stop reading it after the first chapter. I got through the back end cover, intro and chapter 1. As I began chapter two I felt I kept hearing the same points about how so many candidates often said and say things which many thought was very inappropriate (which I do agree strongly that what they said & say were and are not appropriate, so I appreciated that). However the early focus of the book seemed to be toward a certain political party, although for the time & setting, there was much to poke fun at. The book had what I felt were too many jabs and one liners, very subjective and scattered, but I sensed they were written to catch and hold out attention, but the attention of a certain group, not the attention of all of us. I was surprised because before I obtained this book, I saw the author in a televised interview, he was refreshing and I was drawn to him, his words, his caring about society and where we are headed, he sounded positive, unbiased, and in the middle, not necessarily right or left of the party affiliations. I take pride in my own apolitical, nonpartisan or independent views. Still, even in the few words of his which I read in this book, I copied some of his quotes down into my journal as words of wisdom, lessons learned, those words which I recognize and acknowledge a neutral political view but tell us that we all can do better, that we are better, that there is hope for togetherness, hope for a better system; or at least for reducing anger and hate which has divided us so; and that we should seek to do better, to be better and more inclusive of others. Few people know how much sadness I feel by the words and actions of others around me, when I see them hurt each other around social and political issues, I feel like it is a weight I carry as they drain energy out from me, I beg they please stop that; and I feel I'm unique in this space. It makes me want to look for and find a place where I can be me, where it is safe to be, to be non political, non partisan, where there is peace, and one can focus on other important things like caring for one's family, making ones workplace to be a place more beautiful to be in with others; and I wish the same for them; Can they be positive?, can they be energizing?
Still, there is one social issue which is dear to me, and I cannot help but think about it, it's natural to me, it has to do with the voice of the very most vulnerable, the living but unborn; Who speaks for them? I sense the author has in him a most special knowledge, view and quality of seeing the bigger picture, that he is genuine, caring about all others, not just one side. I look forward to any future talks or writings of his, I sensed he is headed in that direction of "good", as his focus, as his commitment and will. I wish there are more like him and despite my not being able to continue this book, I am supportive of him and all his potential for the makings of a hero I would want our youth, our children to pay attention to; for it would not be anger or hate, but words of tolerance, respect, positive and as he writes about "fixing a system", so that its process is improved, not just for one of two sides, but for all, for the masses, for our future. I will certainly look our for more writings, books by this special author and person.

Hilarious, horrifying, and insightful. This book is a cross between Stephen King and Jerry Seinfeld with a dash or three of Dan Rather and Don Rickles. This is a must-read account of not only the 2016 election but of the end of American politics as we knew it (or thought we did).

In the final chapter ("November 18, 2016: President Obama's Last Stand") of this thoughtful, angry, stingingly funny book, Matt Taibbi writes: "Donald Trump won the White House, but he will never be a man like his predecessor; whose personal example will now only shine more brightly with the passage of the time. At a time when a lot of Americans feel like they have little to be proud of, we should think about our outgoing president, whose humanity and greatness are probably only just now coming into true focus."

I agree wholeheartedly, and take some comfort from this assessment. Not a lot at the moment, but some.

Over-the-top funny, scary, and sad, all rolled up into one package that is extremely entertaining and spot-on in every way. This book is not just Trump bashing as you might expect. It is an indictment of all the candidates, all the political parties, all the voters, all the non-voters, the press, the entire election process, and some of the ideas that we hold as core beliefs about what it means to be an American and our place in the world. How I wish this was fiction, but alas, it's real, and unlike a reality show, this one can't be turned off.

Humorous at times. Also a little scary that someone like a "trump" could get elected. There were many influences and Trump did not just fall out of the sky. He had recognition whereas the other Rep. candidates were unknown. With that many in the primaries, it is no wonder Trump got a plurality. When 30% of the voters chose him, 70% wanted someone else. Some of the author's conclusions are interesting although I don't agree with all of them. His idea that Sanders would have been a better candidate against Trump, one has to remember the argument opposing Sanders would have been that he was a "communist". Some voters would not have accepted that being a socialist is different. Some readers need to lighten up when they read a book like this. Some other comments sound like they are "freaking out".

I am amazed at the comments listed here all you have to do is look at the man's behavior (Trump) to understand he is acting like a dangerously spoiled child who is in charge of the US.
Try reading the Economist or listening to the BBC if you don't trust our US media. The warnings of his actions are there you just have to recognize them. Look at history when a dictator takes over he first makes sure the media is demonized and not respected eventually shutting down newspapers etc...
Keep aware of his actions I think this is our only recourse we have to hold him accountable. We have a Constitution which has checks and balances to protect the people against tyranny we cannot allow him to demonize or shut down the press and our courts and our judges.

Please stop spending the libraries money for these negative books against our current President Trump. I am sick and tired of this hateful and untrue type of literature. Hate literature needs to go and the library does not need to encourage it.
Please do not buy another book on Michelle or Barack Obama .The library has bought quite enough about the Obamas.
I'd rather you spend more money on fiction and things I'd rather read than about these political figures that have left the White House.

]Update: Although I did not vote Trump, nor have I ever voted r-con, and have given up on the faux crats long ago, what this election really shows isn't // postfactual \\ anything, but the Fake News which has been in place for many decades, and went into high gear from 1963 onwards. Every Fake Newsy and Progressive Fake Newsy, et cetera, claims 46 percent of the American people voted Trump, which is arithmetically absurd and impossible, since together Clinton and Trump DID NOT receive 46 percent of the vote, 60 percent did not vote for them, and they received only 40 percent total, Trump something aroudn 19.? and Clinton 21.? of the votes cast. And the Fake Newsies all warn us that a ban on 7 countries will be a recruitment tool for ISIS -- they are all reading from the SAME EXACT SCRIPT? Since officially the gov't and CNN report that 75 percent of ISIS has been destroyed [BTW, thanks Russia], there shouldn't be all that much to worry about in terms recruitment, now should there? Figures from end of Obama Administration: source]
Oh gar....!!! I will try to read this, but it sounds like Taibbi never recovered from his blow-up at The Intercept, and his writing on the presidential campaigns was rather mediocre!
From the description sounds more of // white nationalists massing on the northern border, awaiting invasion. . . .\\???
Problem is, instead of discussing the absolutely non-correlating claims [Harvard's Ken "can't do Excel spreadsheets" Rogoff claiming that 11.5 million jobs were actually created during Obama's time in office, completely contradicted by the Rutgers' study which stated that at least one-third of the so-called new jobs couldn't be verified as existing, and the Katz and Krueger study, explaining that 94% of the so-called newly created jobs were part-time] of excellent job growth, with a contradictory lack of the tax base increasing dramatically [since payroll taxes make up the bulk of tax revenues - - since majority of corporations don't bother to pay their federal taxes] while numbers indicate the worst new business formation, worst new bank formation and worst new homeownership for many decades! [Why oh why do all these fakey newsy types always veer to identity politics instead of discussing the economic warfare against American workers [and others]? They can't all be on the payroll, or can they????]